For 60 years RainSoft has been treating, testing water around the world. During the last 16 years I have been the Dealer here in Ottawa, Ontario. We sell/service all RainSoft water systems: Water Softeners, Reverse Osmosis Systems, Whole House Carbon Filters, Chemical Free and Chemical Iron & Sulphur Removal Systems, Sediment Filters, UV Light Systems and MOST IMPORTANTLY PEACE OF MIND! I have an A+ rating with the BBB and have won the Consumers Choice Gold Awards for 5 years in a row. This is a family run business and we especially care about the water you and your family drink and live with. www.rainsoftofottawa.com

Category Archives: Photography

I’ve got a few dozen jokes about Canada in the wintertime
and will divide them into 2 blogs.

The following youtube video, “Boston Blizzard 2015 #Snowlapse – Watch the snow pile up! (40-hour time lapse in HD)” was published on Jan 28, 2015. It is a time lapse of the 2015 Boston blizzard from 3 pm on January 26 to 8 am on January 28, 2015.

The video was created from 5,000 images, recorded at 30-second intervals on a GoPro. The snowlapse was recorded on a roof in Back Bay Boston. For reference, the tall building on the far left is the Hancock Tower. The building in the distance in the middle is the Westin Copley Plaza and the illuminated “The” is from the roof of The Lenox Hotel.

This winter, which is one for the records, many of our American friends to the south are also experiencing record breaking temperatures and snowfalls. Hang in their folks ~ they tell us that there really is a spring season at the end of this long white tunnel!

You’ve probably run out of places to pile the snow as you try to dig out, so just forget about it for now and snuggle up with a blankie and a warm cup of cocoa to enjoy these cartoon jokes.

Whoops! Looks like I lied about spring
being at the end of the white tunnel!

Have a great weekend and try to get out to enjoy a winter activity or two with family and friends…

I just received the above photo of Karl Berg (taken by Soraya Delgado) and the information below in an e-mail from National Geographic, announcing a fun new contest – “Caption This Photo Contest” open until midnight Wednesday, July 31st.

Hi,

A picture can often be worth a thousand words, but a photo with a great caption can help us see an image – and often the world – in a whole new way. Share your caption for the photo above and you could be our July Caption This Photo Contest winner. If your entry is selected, your caption will be shared with National Geographic supporters in our August email. So what does this photo say to you? Don’t be afraid to be creative. It’s easy to enter. Simply submit your caption before our deadline – midnight, Wednesday, July 31st. Only one entry per person please. Pictured here is National Geographic grantee Karl Berg holding a young parrotlet, a New World parrot species. Dr. Berg is studying communication among green-rumped parrots in Venezuela. He and his team have recently discovered that parrot parents use slight variations in their calls for each of their offspring. Baby parrotlets appear to recognize the specific calls designated for them. But don’t limit yourself to what is actually depicted in the photo. There are no limits to what direction your caption can take. Also, don’t delay. You only have a few days to enter your caption before the July 31st deadline. And if you don’t want to submit a caption, but want to read the winning caption, just sign up here. Thank you for making it possible for groundbreaking researchers like Dr. Berg to make important discoveries about wildlife communication and enabling us to share inspiring photos with you. Sincerely, Nancy RehmanVice President, Development

Did you know?The National Geographic Society is a non-profit organization that relies on the generous contributions of individuals to help us inspire people to care about the planet. Donations to Mission Programs – the core scientific and education programs of the Society – support the research and exploration behind the stories in National Geographic magazine, on the National Geographic Channel, and other media.Your donation helps us expand our efforts to fund the world’s top and emerging scientists, explorers, researchers, and adventurers.

The Bay of Fundy, rivaled by Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, King Sound in Western Australia, Gulf of Khambhat in India, and the Severn Estuary in the UK, it has one of the highest vertical tidal ranges in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records (1975) declared that Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world:“The Natural World, Greatest Tides: The greatest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy…. Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, has the greatest mean spring range with 14.5 metres (47.5 feet) and an extreme range of 16.3 metres (53.5 feet).”

In the following YouTube video you’ll see both high and low tides featured as the camera captures the panoramic expanse – ‘An afternoon over the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. Featuring Cape Split, lighthouses, and the highest tides in the world, published on Aug 17, 2012.’

Simple secrets to a happy life . . . What a special treat to find another truly inspiring video from Simple Truths – “Finding Joy ~ Simple Secrets To A Happy Life” ~ sublime!!! Naturally I want to share it with all of you.

When life brings complications, it helps to remember that happiness is simple. With its beautiful pictures, uplifting quotations, and inspiring tone, ‘Finding Joy: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life’ will put a smile on your face when you need it most. So, today, take three short minutes to watch this movie. Your heart will thank you for it. Music – “Capture The Moment” by David London, uploaded on Jan 5, 2009 by Hafiz.

A difficult choice to make, but the following are a few of my favorites:

Nothing happens …but first a dream.

~ Carl Sandburg

The heart that gives, gathers.

~ Marianne Moore

Change your thoughts and change your world.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it and the faith to believe it’s possible.

~ Rick Devos

Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction.

~ Author unknown

Joy is the light that fills you with Hope, Faith and Love.

~ Author unknown

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.

David Viscott

Link to Simple Truths site where you’ll find an impressive selection of inspiring books. Many of these books also have an accompanying video which you can preview. Simple Truths offers frequent book sales. This may be the next one I order for gift-giving.

I came across a remarkable video, “World Water Day 2013”, posted by Haruna Akashi to YouTube. Nako Akashi, a young 15 year old student in Japan produced and narrates the video herself. I’m so impressed with Nako’s work that I feel her insight on water’s impact on our world, should be shared.

Nako is a junior high school student who enjoys music, painting, designing and photography. The devastation of the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan had a profound effect on Nako and she says, ” It’stime for us to help the water. The power of just one person may seem very little, but it all counts – one for all – all for one. I believe this is the international rule for everyone.”

My comments to Nako on her video: ‘Congratulations, Nako, on your remarkable video. I feel your work is award worthy!!! I’m so impressed that I am going to present your video on my blog to celebrate World Water Day 2013. Best of luck in all your future endeavours. You are a wonderful ambassador for Japan as a young person with deep-felt compassion and vision. You will find my blog on WordPress as Rainsoftottawa.’

CAN YOU IMAGINE?~ 8,608,861 HITS!!!

2011 Halloween Light Show ~ This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas – 4 singing pumpkin faces, tombstones, hand carved pumpkins, strobes, floods and thousands of lights. Most all lights have been changed from incandescent to RGB LED so power consumption is a lot less than previous years. Also DMX added to show. All lights, faces and props are custom made (DIY) by me except for the roof line which are CCRs. Controlling channels have gone up 8X from last year. 1144 channels. Riverside, CA

With many thanks to Fran Sorin for her inspiring blog, which I highly recommend you read (link at bottom), here are excerpts from, ‘Water: Joy, Beauty and Gratitude…Blog Action Day 2010’

“As a gardener and advocate of sustainable gardening, I thought that writing about water for Blog Action Day would be a no brainer. Yet, each time I prepared to write about the importance of conserving water, my mind took me back to moments in my childhood; moments in which water played a pivotal role, leaving indelible memories and emotions of joy, love and beauty.

WATER: memories from my childhood.

~ Sights, smells, sounds… Walking through Watkins Glen, a maze of water and a force of nature, mesmerized by the sounds, sights and smells; knowing that I was touching divinity.~ Watching and smelling torrential rain and hail sitting on the back the car in the garage~ The ferocious lullaby of ocean waves – All of these scenes have had a significant emotional impact on me….one of beauty, sacredness and love.

Western civilization of the twenty first century overwhelmingly thinks of water as a product to be controlled and mastered in order to serve our needs. And yet, indigenous cultures revere water, understanding that it is the source of life. Prayers for water and Rain Dances historically were, and still are today, an integral part of certain cultures. These cultures intrinsically know that water is a powerful force, a gift from God, not to be taken lightly.

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”– John Updike

We are water.

70% of our bodies is water. As newborns, our bodies are composed of 80% water. As we grow older, the percentage decreases. By the time we die, the % is below 50. Without enough water, we die.

For most of my life, I took water for granted…Today I think about water each time I use or come into contact with it. When I wake up in the morning and step into the shower, feeling the force of water on my back…experience a sense of gratitude. When I go rowing early in the morning or as dusk settles in, I am often stunned by the amount of pollution and things floating in the water (bottles, containers, papers, and God knows what else..). For a moment, I feel a flash of anger and frustration at others total disregard for this narrow, winding river. And yet, like a plant that is infested with insects, I remind myself that the water, regardless of the condition it is in, is inherently a magnificent, mysterious, life-giving force, pure and generous. And I give thanks…

So, the next time you’re washing off fresh fruits and vegetables in your kitchen, pause, even for a few seconds, and give thanks to water, the source of life.”

Fran Sorin is a gardener, author, broadcaster, and spokesperson. She is the CBS Radio News Garden Contributor, has made dozens of appearances on national TV and written hundreds of articles for USA Weekend Magazine and other national publications.